In the latest Publishing News: HarperCollins capped titles for libraries; publishers are tapping non-traditional outlets for distribution; and Dana Newman schools authors on how to embrace the e-pocalypse.

Kassia Krozser has a Cluetrain-like manifesto for publishers. From Booksquare: It's time to get your hands dirty, to dig into the real-world conversation. It's a weird thing, and sometimes awkward and uncomfortable, especially if you're accustomed to public relations-speak and the cheerleader behavior that accompanies marketing messages. When you talk directly to real people who read and buy books,…

Seth Godin discusses the realities of digital change and free distribution in an interview with HarperStudio's The 26th Story: … the market and the internet don't care if you make money. That's important to say. You have no right to make money from every development in media, and the humility that comes from approaching the market that way matters. It's…

Morris Rosenthal says retail figures point to Amazon eclipsing Barnes & Nobles in U.S. book sales this year: The book selling wars that began four decades ago with the rise of the mall chains, followed by the growing power of the Barnes & Noble, Borders and BAM superstore chains, has been won by Amazon. Amazon sales are on track…

In Defense of Piracy (Lawrence Lessig, Wall Street Journal) The return of this "remix" culture could drive extraordinary economic growth, if encouraged, and properly balanced. It could return our culture to a practice that has marked every culture in human history — save a few in the developed world for much of the 20th century — where many create as…

Jane at Dear Author has a wonderful list of 10 things ebook merchants should be providing as a matter of course. Here's just one example, but read the whole list: Buy a for a friend. The only site that offers this feature is Fictionwise. Amazon does not even offer this for Kindle which makes no sense. When a reader…